1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the games of baseball and softball and, more particularly, to an improved batting tee for batting practice.
2. Description of the Related Art
Batting tees serve as tools for baseball and softball players of all ages to learn to hit the ball with greater proficiency and effectiveness. In order to be useful to players of different heights and also to allow the same player to learn to hit pitches at different heights, the height at which the tee supports the ball must be adjustable. It is also helpful if the tee is not easily knocked over or disrupted so as to avoid the need for repeated repositioning of the tee after every swing.
To achieve an adjustable height tee, various solutions have been reached using telescoping tubes, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,987 in which a rubber tube is inserted within the inner diameter of a metal tube and held therein by a friction fit. The rubber tube of this patent is not very durable, however, and, because the tops of the tubes are open, dirt and debris can enter the tubes.
To prevent the entry of material of various types into the interior of the tubes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,445 discloses a tee having two telescoping tubes in which the top of the upper tube is covered by a grommet and the joint between the two tubes is enclosed by an external support piece. The support piece does not provide a reliably tight fit, however, being representatively embodied as a protective tip taken from the leg of a piece of furniture and made to fit over a joint between the two tubes which must, of course, have different outer diameters in order to telescope. In addition, the frictional fit between the two tubes is also variable, being provided by an elongated split washer that is inserted within the lower tube. The washer is prevented from slipping down into the tube by a flange on the top of the washer while the support piece applies pressure to the flange, causing the washer to squeeze against the inner tube to create the frictional fit. The result is the potential for significant play between the tubes as well as increasingly degraded performance as the support piece is subjected to wear during use of the tee.
In an effort to solve the problem of the tee being repeatedly knocked over, U.S. Pat. No. 7,510,491 includes a housing at the base of the tee that contains extra balls. While the weight of the balls prevents the tee from tipping over easily, the structure is cumbersome. U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,363 discloses a tee having a flexible rubber tube coupled between the ball holder and the base of the tee to absorb shocks during batting. The tube is subject to considerable wear, however, particularly since its position near the ball holder makes it susceptible to being hit directly by an unskilled batter.
Accordingly, a need exists for an adjustable height tee that overcomes the foregoing problems in the prior art.